Thermostatic control device



March 14, 1939. B. MATTHEWS THERMOSTATIC CONTROL DEVICE Filed May 29,1954" \IIIIIIIIIIII'IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL I l I 1 1 I I l I l I I l I n IINVENTOR BY iirchardb Matthews ATTO RNE;

Patented Mar. 14, 1939 THERMOSTATIC CONTROL DEVICE Bil-chard L.Matthews, Cleveland, Ohio, assignpr to The Patrol Valve Company,Cleveland, Ohio,

a corporation of Ohio Application May 29, 1934, Serial No.'728,126

16 Claims. (01. 236+21) This invention relates to control deviceswherein avcut-ofl is operated by heat-responsive members into both theon "and the o positions. More particularly, it has tojdo with a gasvalve controlled by two thermally responsive members, one of whichactuates the valve member into "on position, and the other of whichactuates same in the opposite or off direction.

On devices of this type heretofore known, the

movement of the operation of the device is effected in one direction bythe application of heat to a single heat responsive member, while themovement in the opposite direction is efiected by withdrawal of thesource of heat supply there- In this improved control, two heatresponsive members are provided instead of a'single one, one membereffecting movement in one direction and Y the other effecting movementin the other direction. Thus, positive actuation is provided formovement in both directions.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide a control of thetypedescribed in which a cut-off controlling the operation of a thermallyactuated bumer is effected into both its opening and closing positionsby a direct application of heat. Or in other words, a positiveheat-responsive return to provide for a thermally actuated cut-oil.

A further object is to provide a heat actuated thermal responsiveelement for cutting oil a valve, so that the surrounding, heat, as froma main burner, assists in the operation of the valve, instead ofretarding it. In other words, this surrounding heat, which is extraneousto the normal medium for actuating the first thermal responsive elementconnected directly to the valve for actuating the same to open position,affects a second thermal element which is provided to work in oppositionto the flrst thermal element, thus affording means to compensate for theeffect of such extraneous heat uponthe first thermal element and wherebythis extraneous heat assists the closing function of the valve ratherthan to retard it as would occur without the present. novel placement ofthe second thermal responsive element.

A further object is to provide a control having two thermal elements,one for operating the control to supply fuel to a burner, and the otherto cut fuel-oil from the burner, the cut-off element being moresubjected to the heat of the burner than the cut-on member. a

A furtherobiect is to provide a device wherein a control element for gasvalves or the like is provided with bleed lines supplying fuel tooperate burners for heating thermally responsive v means that operatethe main gas valve.

A further object is to provide two such bleed lines, each controlling aburner, and each burner '5 controlling a thermally responsive element,the

thermally responsive elements operating in opposition to each other. 7 Afurther object is to provide a control element in-the .bleed lines thatcloses one line when the 10 other is open.

A further object is to provide a means responsive to the heat producedby the: main burner foroperating the bleed line control element.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in thenovel construction, ar-

rangement and combination of parts, hereinafter described, illustratedin some of its embodiments in the accompanying drawing, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, Figure 1, is a side elevation,

partly in section, of a heating appliance'embcdy- I ing the improvedcontrol.

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the controlling member for theheaters of the heatresponsive members.

The numeral l indicates the casing or the heating appliance in whichthere is a main burner 2 and a continuously operating pilot burner 3 Iwhich are supplied with gas from a fuel s'upplyp conduit 4, thepilotburner supply being under control of a manually operable control valve5' that controls the gas supply to the conduit 6 in communication withthe burner 3. I A needle adjusting valve I is located adjacent theburner 3 for the purpose of further regulating the fuel supply to theburner 3 and for the injection of primary air by way of ports 8 so thatthis burner operates'with a blue flame. The details of the valves 5 andl are not shown as these 40 valves may be of any suitable constructionand they do not form a part of this invention. fuel Supply line to themain burner 2 is'under control or a manually operable valve 9. The valve9 communicates with'the thermally actu-' ated valve "I which is providedwith a pair of valve seats II and I2 undercontrol of a valve 'member I:which is positioned between these valve seats. v

A spring II is provided to urge the valve head ll toward the seat ll.The valve member I3 is carried by a valve stem I 5 which is providedwith a flexible packing diaphragm IS, the inner portion of-which issecured in fluid tight relation around the valve stem, and the outerportion of The spool 23 is adjustably carried upon the end or the valvestem l5 opposite the end which supports the valve head [3 the adjustmentbeing effected by means of screw threads as shown. The spool 23cooperates with' an oscillating lever 2| which is pivotally mounted at22 in a block 23 carried by the housing Ill. The oscillating lever 2| isin contact at its upper end with a spring 24 which is provided with anadjustable abutment 25'by means of which the tension of the springmay-be adjusted.

The elements 2| and 24 provide a snap-action mechanism which isconnected to adjustable link 26 under control of a pair of thermostats21 and 23 here shown as being bi-metaliic elements. The thermostats 21and 28 are positioned in a chimney-like housing 23 which forms a part ofthe housing i3 and are separated by a baflie wall 23' protecting eachelement from the others flame; and also protecting element 21 from heatemanating from main burner 2 through the casing and conduit 33. Thisportion of the bolls-- ing communicates with a conduit -3|! whichextends therefromto and terminates above the continuously operatingpilot burner 3. In the lower portion of the housing 23, there is locateda pair of intermittently operating burners 3| and 32 which are connectedrespectively. to fuel supply conduits 33 and 34 under control of thevalves 35 and 36. The valves 35 and 36 are actuated by means of athermostatic strip 31 which may be under control of the medium heated bymain burner 2, such as the contents of a-tank,

38. Any other suitable control" could be used here, provided it'producedreciprocal motion in valves 35 and 36.

.The thermostatic element 31 is rigidly secured at the inner end of ahousing 33 which may be threadably received in a tapped opening 43 ofthe tank. A closure cap 4| is provided for the outer end of thethermostat housing; The valve 35 is provided with an inlet portion 42which is in communication with a conduit 43 communicating with the portunder control of the valve seat |2 of the thermally actuated valve Hi.The outlet passageway 44 of the valve 35 is in communication withtheconduit 33 of the burner 3|.

The inlet-45 of the valve 36 is in communication with a conduit 41 whichis in turn connected to the conduit 43 that is interposed between thethermally actuated valve in and an adjusting valve 43 which is arrangedto inject gas into the gas and air mixing tube 53 of the burner 2. Thevalve 43 is of suitable conventional design and is not hereinillustrated in detail.

v The outlet opening 5| of the valve 36 is in communication with theconduit 34 which is provided for the supply of fuel to the burner 32.The burners 3| and .32 are provided with needle adjustment valves andare also provided with primary airports 52 and 53 respectively so thatthe flame supported'by these burners is su stantially blue flame incharacter. i

The valves 35 and 36 are identical in design and by referring to theenlarged view, Figure 2, it is to be seen that they are formed from 'avalve body portion 54 having inlet and outlet openings 42 and 44. Avalve tappet 55 is provided for effecting the operation of the valvemember, which in theprgse'nt case, consists-of a longitudinally.

adjustable element 56 adjustably carried by the valve body 54.

A head is provided on this member 56 to eflect its adjustment Thismember 56 is provided with an axial bore 53 with inlet openings 63through which gas is supplied to the bore 53. The flow of gas betweeninlet 42 and outlet 44 is under control of the valve member 53. Thisvalve member is the familiar type of pneumatic tire valve,

opened by depressing a stem as at 6|.

Thermostatic bar 23 is connected to link 26 by a lost motion connectionincluding two adjustable nuts 65 and 66, threaded, into the link. Thuswhen link 26 is shifted to the left under action of thermostat 21, withthermostat'23 cool, nut 66 is moved into'contact with thermostat 28.Then upon heating of thermostat 23, its motion to the right isimmediately communicated to linkv 26.

With 28 in its extreme right position, when burner 32 is cut-off, thecooling of bar 23 does not force link 26 to the left, because of thelost motion provided by nut 65.

In the operation of the device, the pilot burner 3 is first ignited andthe height of its flame resulated by means of the valves 5 and-1. Themain burner shut-ofi valve 3 is next opened thereby admitting gas to thethermally operated valve III. with the valve in the position shown, whenthe valve 3 is opened, gas will pass by way of the uncovered valve seatl2 to the conduit 43 and will then be under control of the valve 35which is in turn controlled by the temperature of the contents of thetank 33. In the event the temperature of the contents of the tank 33 isbelow a predetermined point, the thermostat 31 will.

be raised a suflicientdistance to open the valve by pressure on stem 6|,thereby supplying gas through outlet 44 and conduit 33 to theintermittently operating burner 3|. Gas from this burner escapes by wayof the conduit 33 and is 'valve stem l5 and the valve head l3. Thismovement uncovers the valve seat supplying gas to the burner 2 and atthe same time covers the,

valve |2 cutting off the supply of gas to the burner 52. This permitsthe thermostatic element 21 to cool and move to the right; and shortlythereafter, by reason' of the spring l4 the valve .head l3 follows themovement of the. strip 21 again closing valve II, and opening valve l2.

Gas is again admitted to the burner 3|, through valve 12, and ignitedfrom the pilot 3 again to open valve The valve will then assume aposition open just enough to. supply suflicient heat to the burner 3| tokeep the valve in that stated position. In other words it is graduatedto a positionin between valve seats H and I2, permitting gas to flowboth through conduit 43 to support .burner 3|, and to conduit 43 tosupport main burner 2. As soon as gas is supplied'to main burner 2, itwill ignite from pilot burner 3.

After the main burner 2 has been in operation for a suflicient length oftime to heat the contents of the-storage tank 33, the free end of thethermostat 31 will shift downwardly as viewed in Figure l, causing thevalve 35 to close .and at the same time opening valve 36. Upon thisoperations taking place, the supply of 'gas to the burner 3 I is cut of!and gas is then supplied it to shift in the same direction as thestrip28; I

viz. to the right. This causes these two thermostats to shift theadjustable link and its associated parts to the right thereby effectingthe closure of the main thermally actuated valve It. When this takesplace, the gas supply to the burner 2 and to valve 36 is cut oil. Thethermostat 31 remains in thedownward position so long as the tankcontents remain heated, and hence valve 36 remains open. However, thegas supply to this valve is cut oflf by closure of valve I2, so that nofuel flows to burner 32. As soon as the tank contents call for heat,thermostat 31 is raised, closing valve 36 and opening valve 35,initiating the cycle of operation anew.

It is to be observed that with this design, heat from the main burnertends to assist cutting oflf valve l0, because of its effect onthermostat 28. In the devices heretofore known, heat from the mainburner acted to retard cutting off the valve, with the possibility ofgreat danger. This has been explained in the foregoing outline of theobjects of the invention and should be readily understood from the abovedescription. From an inspection of the drawing it will'be seen that thetwo thermal responsive elements 21 and 28 are so positioned relativelyto each other and to the heated chamber I, and that any heat, as fromthis chamber, which is extraneous to the burner 52, affecting thethermal element 21 will also affect the second thermal element 28. Asstated this heat from the main burner, because it afiects both thermalelements, will assist rather than retard the cutting ofl of the valve.

It is to be particularly noted that the present invention is especiallyadaptable to thermostatic controls when used, as is shown in Fig. 1 ofthe drawing, in close proximity to a heated chamber, 1. e., thermostaticdevices that depend upon the functioning of the thermal element by heatin addition to that of the heated chamber. In this class of device asstated above it has been found that the heat which radiates from theheated chamber ofttimes affects the operation of the thermal elementespecially when the latters own heating medium has been turned off. Whenthese detrimental conditions are present it is found that thethermostatic actuator is very materially retarded in its operation, andin many instances to fall almost entirely if the heat as in the chamberI illustrated in the drawing is of a high degree.

As described the thermal element 21 which constitutes the primaryactuator for the valve 13 is supplemented by means of a second thermalelement 28. The structure of elements 21 and 28 is such that whenaflectedby heat they move in opposite directions. Fig. 1 clearlyillustrates the 5 condition of the thermostatic control device when ininoperative or cold position, with the valve l3 closing off the gassupply to the main burner and with the upper end of thermostat element23 completely out of operating contact with the link 26. In bringingabout the ignition of the main burner 2, heat is supplied by means ofthe burner 52 to the thermal element 21 which moves to the left of Fig.1 to uncover valve seat II. There-- upon the element 21, link 26 andadjustable nuts 36 and thereon have been moved to the left 1 etc.

and in this position the nut 66 engages the second thermal element 23.Thiscondition prevails as long as heat is supplied to the thermalelement 21. When it is desired to close 011 the supply of gas to themain burner 2 the burner 52 or other medium for supplying heat to theprimary thermal element 21 is cut off and this element may then uponcooling retract to its original position andthus move the valve l3 tocover the seat I I. If however there is suflicient heat in the casingsurrounding the thermal element the cooling of the thermal element 21 ismaterially retarded. To offset this latter detrimental condition,thermal element 26 has been provided and as explained above the latterwhen heated tends to move the link 26 to the right of Fig. 1. Thus thesame extraneous heat that affects thermal element 21 to cause theretardation of its normal movement in closing the valve will also affectthe thermal element 28 and in this manner element 28 operates toovercome the retardation of movement of element 21 and permit the latterto operate in substantially normal manner. Obviously,by reason of theadjustability in the connection between element 28 and. the link 26',the above stated compensating function of element 28 may be varied tosuit individual installation or placement of the thermostatic actuatingdevice.

Furthermore, it isto be understood that the particular form of apparatusshown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, arepresented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that variousmodifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made withoutdeparting from my invention as defined in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that the system is appliable to other than gasvalves, and that where theform valve" is used it is intended to applygenerically to cut-offs, such as electric switches,

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a device of the kind described, a cut-01f, thermal means foroperating the cut-ofi in, one direction, thermal means to operate it inanother direction, fuel operated heat means for each thermal means, anda single means for selectively admitting fuel to either of said heatmeans.

' 2. In a device of the kind described, a cut-oil, a thermallyresponsive means actuating said cutoff in one direction, a secondthermally responsive means actuating said cut-oil. in another direction,and means for adjusting the point at which said actuation occurs, and asingle means for selectively causing either. one of said thermallyresponsive means to operate.

3. In combination, a fuel line, a main heater connected thereto, acut-oil in said line, thermally responsive means controlling saidcut-ofl, said means including two thermally responsive elements and twoassociated heating elements, and means connecting each of said heatingelements to the fuel line, said thermally responsive element beingoppositely operable under the heat fuel from ahead of the cut-oil, andthe other.

is supplied with fuel from behind said cut-ofl.

5. A device of the kind described, including -a burne a fuel supply forsaid burner, a cut-oi 6. In a device of the kind described two heatingmeans, an individual fuel line to each heat-' ing means, a cut-off forsaid fuel lines and a single thermally responsive means actuating saidcut-off to open either one or the other of said fuel lines.

7. In a device of the kinddescribed, a main heater, two oppositely.working thermally responsive elements, a member actuated thereby, ameans for actuating each element, and means operable in response to heatproduced by said heater for selectively causing either actuating meansto be operative and the other to be simultaneously inoperative.

8. In a device of the kind described, a fuel line, a main heaterenergized therefrom, a pair of bleed lines leading from the fuel line, apair of heating elements operated from said bleed lines, and a singlemeans operated by said main heater for controlling both bleed lines,said last means operating to open either one or the other of said bleedlines and to simultaneously close the other.

9. A device including a main fuel line, a main fuel consumer in saidline, a plurality of bleed lines leading from said fuel line andseparate from said main consumer,- a heating member in each bleed line,and means responsive to the heat of each heating member for cutting offthe fuel to its bleed line.

10. In a device of the kind described, a fuel line, a main fuel consumertherein, a plurality of bleed lines leading from said fuel line andseparate from said consumer, a cut-off for said bleed lines, a heaterelement in each bleed line, and means responsive to the heat of one ofsaid heater elements for operating the cut-off to open another of saidbleed lines.

11. A safety control including a main heating element, a pilot ignitertherefor, means dependent upon the operativeness of the pilot andoperating in one direction to admit fuel to the main heating element,and a second means, heat responsive, for operating the fuel admittingmeans in the other direction, and a second heat supply means independentof said main heating element for said second means.

12. In a device of the kind described, a main heater, a fuel linetherefor, a cut-oil in said line, heat responsive means for operatingthe cut-oil. into the on position, heat responsive means for operatingthe same into the "off" position, and heating means separate from themain heater for actuating both said heat responsive means.

13. In a device of the kind described, a heater, a fuel supply for saidheater, a cut-off in said fuel supply, two auxiliary heating means,means conveying fuel from in front of the cut-ofl to one of saidauxiliary heating means, means conveying fuel from behind the cut-01f tothe other of said auxiliary heating meansand thermal devices actuated bysaid auxiliary heating means to operate the cut-ofl.

14. In combination, a valve, -a thermally responsive element foractuating the same in one direction, a burner for supplying heat toactuate said thermally responsive element, a fuel supply line to saidburner and connections including said valve in said line, saidconnections comprising means varying the supply of fuel to said burnerwith gradual action and depending upon the actuation of said thermallyresponsive element, a second thermallyresponsive element connected tosaid valve and operating in opposition to said first thermallyresponsive element, said second thermally responsive element beingactuated by heat means other than the means for heating said firstthermally responsive element.

15. In combination, a heat chamber having a main burner therein, a fuelsupply line to said burner, and a thermostatic control device comprisingan assembled unitof construction mounted exteriorly of said chamber,said device including a valve connected in said fuel line to control thesupply to said main burner, actuating means for said valve, thermallyresponsive means connected to said actuating means, said thermallyresponsive means operating under heat to move the valve in onedirection, a second thermally responsive means connected to saidactuating means and operating under heat in opposition to said firstthermally responsive means, both said thermally responsive means beingarranged in proximity to each other so that any heat extraneous to theheat for operating said first thermally responsive means causes saidsecond thermally responsive means effectively to compensate for theeifect of such extraneous heat upon said first thermally responsivemeans.

16. A thermostatic control device comprising a casing, a valve therein,an actuating member for said valve, a thermally responsive member insaid casingconnected to said actuating member and operating under heatto move the valve in one direction, a second thermally responsive memberin said casing and operating under heat to move in the oppositedirection to said first 5

